The present invention relates to searches of data objects.
Enterprise computer systems, such as, for example, the R/3 System available from SAP AG, of Walldorf, Germany, usually include and process business objects. Business objects are data objects that relate to some business process of an enterprise. Business objects can represent, for example, material master records, equipment, business partners, and so forth.
Generally, a business object includes attributes, which can form a significant part of the content of the business object. An attribute can be named and can include values. For example, an attribute named business partner can include a text string value “SAP AG”. Attribute values can also include numeric values, as well as any other type of data that can be generally incorporated into a data object. Furthermore, the attributes of a business object can be structured relative to one another. For example, a first attribute can be associated with one or more child attributes. A collection of related attributes can be grouped as a set. For example, attributes that describe a product configuration can be grouped.
Business objects can be of different types, with each type relating to some particular business process. A material master, for example, is one type of business object. A business partner, such as, for example, a supplier, is another example of a particular type of business object.